'The Voice': Niall Horan Has to Cut Half His Team in the Playoffs -- Who Made the Live Shows?
Matthew Perez It's time for the Playoffs on season 24 of The Voice -- and that means the coaches have to make some major cuts!
Niall Horan was up first on Tuesday, with each Team Niall singer performing a new song of their coach's choosing before the former One Direction singer was forced to cut the group down from six hopeful singers to just three -- who will progress on to the live shows.
"To turn six to three is just crazy to me," Niall lamented to fellow coaches Reba McEntire, John Legend, and Gwen Stefani, telling his team members, "I have enjoyed working with all of you. We see a lot of great singers, but I think we've got a lot of great artists, especially on this team."
See who made Team Niall's final cut for the live shows below!
Huntley
After earning a four-chair turn during the Blind Auditions for his cover of "She Talks to Angels," there was no slowing down for the father of two, who won his Battle with Hootie and the Blowfish's "Hold My Hand" and his Knockout with Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive."
After his Playoff performance of "Daylight" by David Kushner, it was a no-brainer for Niall, who picked him as the first singer to move through to the live shows.
"Huntley's got such an individual tone in his voice," the proud coach said. He's a machine on stage, an unbelievable performer. Not many voices are like his, and there's a real spot for him in our industry."
Nini Iris
Another four-chair turn who was on Team Niall from the very beginning -- following a stunning Blinds performance of "I See Red" by Everybody Loves an Outlaw -- Nini constantly wowed the coaches with her powerful voice and stage presence.
She won her Battle with Blondie's "Heart of Glass," her Knockout with Radiohead's "Karma Police" and her Playoff performance of "River" by Bishop Briggs cemented her a place in the live shows.
"Nini is the most ready," Niall raved. "She knows exactly who she is. She can win this whole thing."
Mara Justine
Mara was one of the first four-chair turns of the season -- winning over the coaches with Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" -- but she first ended up on Team Legend!
She won her Battle with Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man," but stumbled slightly in the Knockouts with Badfinger's "Without You." After John didn't select her as the Knockout winner, however, Niall came through with the steal, and Mara's Playoff performance of Florence + The Machine's "You've Got the Love" earned her the live show ticket.
"Mara's perfect for the live shows, because of the energy she brings," Niall praised. "The control, the quality of her voice, she's so exciting for this competition."
The defending Voice champ, Niall's had quite a run so far in his second season, even earning the ire of his fellow coaches for landing almost all of the singers who reveal that they were One Direction fans back in the day.
Following Laura Williams' Blind Audition, Reba and John were bemoaning the fact that Niall had won the four-chair turn singer to his team -- a not-so-surprising trend among a certain type of competitor.
"Dang boy bands!" Reba cursed.
"It reminds me of when Nick Jonas was on the show," John agreed. "He had a certain pull with a certain generation of girls."
Later, to the cameras, John lamented, "I loved Laura's performance, and I'm very upset that she's a Directioner."
"Niall's been a thorn in my side all season," he added, "and I have no chance against him with these girls."
The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. PT/ET and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. PT/ET on NBC.
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